The Marcos administration plans to borrow more in US dollars as the Department of Finance (DOF) said the government is looking at tapping the hard-earned savings of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
During a Kapihan sa Manila Bay Forum on Wednesday, Nov. 30, DOF Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said the government is planning to launch a US dollar retail treasury bond issue within the first three-months of next year.
While the government still finalizes details of the retail dollar bond float, Diokno indicated that the tenor would be at least five-years and may sell more or less $3 billion depending on the demand.
This is not the first dollar bond issuance of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. To recall, the government sold $2 billion last October through a triple-tranche US dollar bond sale.
Broken down, the government sold $500 million worth of five-year bonds, $750 million of 10.5-year IOUs, and $750 million of 25-year green or sustainability bonds.
The five-year bond was priced at 5.17 percent, while the 10.5-year notes carried a yield of 5.609 percent, and the 25-year green bonds was priced at 6.1 percent.
The government’s running debt hit a new record high of P13.517 trillion as of September, equivalent to 63.7 percent of the country economy, or gross domestic product (GDP).
Based on the Bureau of the Treasury data, the latest quarterly debt-to-GDP figure was the highest since 65.7 percent in 2005.
The end-September debt ratio is above the 60 percent international threshold deemed by debt watchers as manageable among emerging markets like the Philippines.
An elevated debt-to-GDP level puts the country’s investment-grade status at risk.
Last October, Fitch Ratings kept its negative outlook for the Philippines amid rising consumer prices, tightening financial conditions, and uncertainty in the global economic environment.
Since 2019, the total debt of the national government ballooned from just P7.731 trillion, or 39.6 percent of GDP.
Last April, former DOF Secretary G. Dominguez III said the new administration should avoid accumulating additional debt and prioritize policies that will entice more economic activity.